Welcome to Overnight News Digest, where the usual crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, Interceptor7, jlms qkw, and ScottyUrb, guest editor annetteboardman, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with tonight's news.
The featured story comes from Reuters.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume this week
By Arshad Mohammed and Ori Lewis
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM | Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:12pm EDT
(Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians plan to resume peace negotiations this week for the first time in nearly three years after an intense effort by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to bring them back to the table.
The talks are scheduled to resume in Washington on Monday evening and on Tuesday and will be conducted by senior aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department said.
"Both leaders have demonstrated a willingness to make difficult decisions that have been instrumental in getting to this point. We are grateful for their leadership," Kerry said in a statement.
Follow over the jump for the rest of tonight's news.
International News
Egypt's Brotherhood stands ground after killings
By Maggie Fick and Yasmine Saleh
CAIRO | Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:11pm EDT
(Reuters) - Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters stood their ground near a Cairo mosque on Sunday, a day after at least 72 were shot dead by Egyptian security forces, braced for a move against them by the army chief who ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first appearance since Saturday's bloodshed, smiling before television cameras at a graduation ceremony for police recruits in starched white uniforms.
He received a standing ovation and was hailed by Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as "Egypt's devoted son". Fawning coverage in state and private media reflected Sisi's rising political star, in a country ruled by former military officers for six decades before Mursi's election in 2012.
INSIGHT-The poison pill in India's search for cheap food
By Rajendra Jadhav and Jo Winterbottom
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, July 28 | Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:10am EDT
(Reuters) - Nearly a decade ago, the Indian government ruled out a ban on the production and use of monocrotophos, the highly toxic pesticide that killed 23 children this month in a village school providing free lunches under a government-sponsored programme.
Despite being labelled highly hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a panel of government experts was persuaded by manufacturers that monocrotophos was cheaper than alternatives and more effective in controlling pests that decimate crop output.
India, which has more hungry mouths to feed than any other country in the world, continues to use monocrotophos and other highly toxic pesticides that rich and poor nations alike, including China, are banning on health grounds.
Driver of derailed Spanish train charged with 79 counts of homicide
By Tracy Rucinski
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain | Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:09pm EDT
(Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish high-speed train that derailed and killed 79 people was released pending trial on charges of reckless homicide, a judge ruled on Sunday night.
Francisco Garzon, 52, had been under arrest since Thursday. He is suspected of driving the train too fast through a tight curve on the outskirts of the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.
Examining Magistrate Luis Alaez formally charged Garzon with "79 counts of homicide and numerous offences of bodily harm, all of them committed through professional recklessness," the court said in a statement.
U.S. News
New York mayoral hopeful Weiner loses top aide amid campaign tumult
By Eric M. Johnson
Sun Jul 28, 2013 11:01am EDT
(Reuters) - The campaign manager who helped to guide Anthony Weiner's bid for New York City mayor resigned over the weekend, a spokeswoman said on Sunday, as the Democratic former Congressman grapples with slumping poll numbers and fresh revelations of his sexually charged Internet activity.
Danny Kedem, 31, who joined Weiner's long-shot campaign in early spring, helped to manage day-to-day political operations before abruptly quitting, said spokeswoman Barbara Morgan. She declined to comment on the timing or give a reason for his departure.
Weiner, 48, once a liberal voice in the U.S. Congress, resigned in June 2011 after admitting he used Twitter and other social media to send lewd pictures of himself to women he met online.
Lew says stubborn Congress risks repeating U.S. fiscal wounds
By Patrick Temple-West
WASHINGTON | Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:10am EDT
(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Sunday warned Congress against manufacturing a crisis over federal spending in the months ahead, as looming deadlines set the stage for a repeat of the political deadlock which two years ago triggered worldwide financial market turmoil.
In coming negotiations with Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, Democratic President Barack Obama will focus on ways to create economic gains for the middle class over spending cuts, Lew said.
"We have already done a lot of deficit reduction," he said in an interview on NBC. Lew spoke on four TV talk shows, setting out Obama's priorities ahead of an expected showdown this fall.
Motive a mystery in Miami area mass shooting
By Zachary Fagenson
MIAMI | Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:32pm EDT
(Reuters) - Miami police on Sunday searched for a motive for a shooting rampage in which six people were killed by a gunman who set his apartment on fire before shooting several neighbors and taking others hostage.
They said they were investigating reports that the man, Pedro Alberto Vargas, 42, was in the process of being evicted and had had disputes with the building's management.
More than 100 police, including SWAT teams, stormed an apartment in Hialeah, a heavily-Hispanic suburb of Miami, in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, killing Vargas and rescuing two hostages.
Speedboat driver charged with manslaughter in fatal New York crash
by Greg McCune and Edith Honan
Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:09pm EDT
(Reuters) - The pilot of a speedboat that was carrying six members of a wedding party when it crashed into a barge on the Hudson River was charged on Saturday with vehicular manslaughter in the death of one of the passengers, reported as the bride-to-be.
Jojo John, 35, was also charged with three counts of vehicular assault, said Rockland County Sheriff William Barbera. He was in custody at a local hospital, where he was being treated for injuries he suffered along with three others injured in the accident on Friday night.
The body of a woman was pulled from the water on Saturday by crews searching for two people missing from the crash north of New York City, Barbera said.
Business and the Economy
Steven Cohen throws a party despite his fund's indictment
By Matthew Goldstein
Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:58pm EDT
(Reuters) - Hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen did not let the filing of criminal charges against his $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors get in the way of a party this weekend at his vacation estate in tony East Hampton, New York.
The Saturday night party at Cohen's 10-bedroom home on Further Lane took place two days after federal prosecutors in New York announced a five-count criminal indictment against SAC Capital that portrayed the 21-year-old Stamford, Conn.-based fund as a breeding ground for unlawful insider trading.
The lavish affair, which one source said included delivery of $2,000 worth of tuna from a local fish store to Cohen's home, was planned before the charges were filed. A person familiar with the event said the party, attended by a few dozen people, was intended by the 57-year-old manager to show support for ovarian cancer research, though it was not a fundraiser.
Analysis: A year on, Draghi's 'save the euro' pledge remains untested
By Sakari Suoninen and Andreas Framke
FRANKFURT | Thu Jul 25, 2013 9:24am EDT
(Reuters) - A year after Mario Draghi vowed to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro, the European Central Bank president can claim to have staved off disaster - but he may have to back up his words with action before long.
Were euro zone turmoil to return, especially with Spain or Italy on the receiving end, Draghi and the ECB will have to prove that his promise - made on July 26 last year - has substance, something he and the ECB have not yet had to do.
This time last year, investors were piling up bets on the break-up of the 17-country currency bloc. Then, with 23 ad-libbed words, Draghi changed the course of the euro zone debt crisis.
"Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough," he said on a warm summer day in London.
Analysis: China leaders play safe on reforms as growth sags
By Kevin Yao
BEIJING | Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:16pm EDT
(Reuters) - For all the strong rhetoric, China's latest policy actions suggest a shift in focus on the economy to mix relatively pain-free reforms that burnish Beijing's credentials for change with measures to prop up sagging growth.
While Premier Li Keqiang provides a drip-feed of easy reforms, he will avoid more radical moves for fear of tipping the world's second-biggest economy over the edge.
Analysts from top government think-tanks say there is no reason to doubt the government's commitment to rebalancing China's economy away from an investment- and credit-driven growth model to one that relies more on consumption and innovation.
Entertainment and Sports
Detroit again leans on Tigers, other teams to lift city's spirits
By Joseph Lichterman
DETROIT | Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:15pm EDT
(Reuters) - For five days in July 1967 riots tore apart Detroit, exacerbating racial tensions, and forcing the National Guard to quell the violence.
The Tigers, Detroit's Major League Baseball team, felt immense pressure to win the next season to help bring the city together.
"They pretty much understood to a man that if they had a successful season and won the pennant ... it would help hold the city together," said Tim Wendel, author of "Summer of ‘68: The Season That Changed Baseball, and America, Forever."
That October, the Tigers won baseball's World Series.
U.S. beat Panama to win CONCACAF Gold Cup
By Jahmal Corner
Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:47pm EDT
(Reuters) - The United States capped off a dominant tournament performance with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Panama on Sunday to capture the CONCACAF Gold Cup championship.
Brek Shea broke through with a goal in the 69th minute and the U.S. won their first Gold Cup title since 2007, erasing a pair of title match defeats to Mexico in their previous two final appearances.
The triumph was the 11th consecutive overall for the Americans, and came without manager Juergen Klinsmann who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected in the semi-finals.
'Wolverine' claws past ghosts to claim weekend box office crown
By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK | Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - "The Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman as Marvel Comics' sharp- clawed superhero, slashed its way to $55 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales to claim the box office crown in a summer that hasn't been kind to some other big-budget action films.
"The Conjuring," the low-budget horror film that led last weekend's box office, slipped to second place with $22.1 million in domestic sales from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. The film has generated nearly $84 million in overall ticket sales, a surprisingly strong showing for a film that cost just under $20 million to make.
The animated film "Despicable Me 2," featuring the voice of comic actor Steve Carell, finished third with $16 million in ticket sales in its fourth week in movie theaters. The film was made by Universal Pictures and has collected more than $660 million in ticket sales around the world
.